Finally...I've succumbed to temptation and my ego.
"..but he is a very fine cat, a very fine cat indeed..."

Sunday, June 29, 2014

Second week at work and I have been chucked in the deep end with the case load rapidly increased as the 'new boy' gets the 'difficult cases'. Next week I will be covering injections for staff who are on leave so I am no longer at periscope depth! All in all, it's been a better week and I feel more settled now, with familiar routines and a sense of business as usual.
Blue Witch asked a very relevant question about my return to work and end of this round of retirement; do I have any regrets? My hastily scribbled reply before I headed off out the door didn't really answer it. I do have regrets as I believe I wasted an opportunity but with hindsight I am also aware that my batteries had been on empty for a long time. I paid off debts, recharged my batteries and had the first long break in the last thirty years. The opportunity I missed was not waiting and relocating within the Trust to a job nearer home. I could have continued until the age of 55 and then retired on a full pension with everything paid off including the mortgage. I made my decision, went with it and despite some regrets I am glad to have escaped that situation. Over the past two weeks I have met three colleagues who have done the same thing and returned to work after early retirement. My plan is for 2 -3 years full time work which will pay off the mortgage, allow me to put money aside for myself and to then quit nursing or work part time. "The best laid schemes o' Mice an' Men, Gang aft agley" and it may be that my plans go awry but, my general intention is to stick to that plan. I do still have some wild ideas running about my head such as buying a cheap house and land in Bulgaria; camper van around Europe; derelict old cottage in the Scottish borders. Mrs C is rather cool about the first and third ideas but is happy for me to bugger off in a camper van for several months. Those are future schemes and the camper van is likely to be the one that comes to fruition. But we are back to the present and the mundane task of a 9 - 5 job to realise that scheme. I also know that, despite the years of hard work and difficulties we have encountered along the way, I am in a luckier place compared with many people. Now it is time for a coffee and a return to my mandolin practice which I have neglected for the last three months.
TTFN.

2 Comments:

Thank you for answering my question. I'm sure that people would be more efficient if they were able to take some time off every few years (without it effecting their long-term careers or pensions). Can't remember which, but I'm sure there are some countries that encourage that.

Bulgaria must be almost empty of indigenous people now... Plenty of blogs about moving from UK out there. Google 'Bulgaria blog' if you've not found them yet.

And as for Scotland - the results of the referendum in September might be a turning point...?

Ideally I would like an old small cottage with a garden in the Borders or Northumberland. Mrs C won't move apart from to a modern bungalow in this area. Hence I will be opting for the camper van to satisfy my wanderlust. Are you still in the lands beyond the Humber BW & nearer your acquisition of a new home?